With in-the-ear hearing devices, components, like for instance the microphone, amplifier or loudspeaker, are integrated in a housing shell, which is molded so as to correspond to the auditory canal of the hearing device wearer. The front of the housing shell is completed with a faceplate. The size and shape of the faceplate is variable as a result of the housing shell which is molded specifically to the hearing device wearer.
Control components, like the program switch and volume controller are integrated in the faceplate. The control components must be accessible for a hearing device wearer both from the outside and also inwards toward the components of the housing shell.
Patent application DE 41 21 311 C1 specifies a hearing device which can be worn in the ear and a method for the production thereof. A housing is sealed by a faceplate, which has a penetrating assembly opening.
To ensure a secure fit, the control components are integrated in the faceplate such that after fitting, a minimum material thickness of the faceplate below the support surface of the control components remains as counter pressure supports. The control components can thus only be integrated in certain regions of the faceplate. Alternatively, a control component with a larger diameter but smaller installation depth can be selected. This nevertheless occupies a larger surface of the faceplate. Therefore, the faceplate must potentially be embodied to be larger.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,879,697 B2 specifies the production of a hearing device housing, consisting of a faceplate and a housing shell, which are individually adjusted to the shape of the auditory canal of a user. The production method contains at least one automatic step which is based on a CAD/CAM model of a hearing device housing.